Choosing a career path is often high on the list of high school seniors and college students. However, as slow economic times lead to business closings and layoffs, many experienced workers find themselves searching for a new career. Whether it is a student just starting out or a veteran worker, picking a new career poses the same challenges. Use this list of resources to explore possible careers, which will help lead to a fulfilling job with potential and rewards.
College Career Centers Important to Choosing Careers
As a college student looking for a job, the first step toward a successful career, one of the best resources available is a college or university career center. They offer trained career counselors whose main job is to help students with job searches. Many of these counselors only work with students in specific majors and career interests.
In addition to counselors, college career centers offer a multitude of resources including skills tests, career aptitude tests, online search engines and printed materials devoted to job and career searches. Some career centers do provide services for the public. Research local schools for more information.
Online Job Search Engines Provide Career Advice
For anyone interested in picking a career, job search engines offer valuable information in addition to helping people find a job. Sites such as CareerBuilder.com, HotJobs.com and CareerJournal.com also serve as hubs of information on how to find and build a successful career such as
- providing articles on different types of careers and jobs found within them
- offering skills assessments and personality tests
- explaining job search strategies such as creating a stellar resume
As a bonus, the information on these sites is often tailored to individuals in different stages of the career search process from college freshman to retiree.
Career Exploration Inventory Aids in Search
Sometimes going to a career center or searching online seems like too large of a task when just starting the process of picking a career. A Career Exploration Inventory test helps to determine what career and jobs are a good match with how an individual works, plays and learns. Completing one of these assessments provides insight into which careers will be enjoyable and details steps to find a position within them.
With the results of a Career Exploration Inventory, individuals have valuable information to help them when searching for a career. This information is useful to have throughout the process of picking a career. Use it when looking for information at career centers or websites.
Keep in mind that choosing a career needs to be fun. Researching various professions should cause excitement and ambition when thinking about the prospect of holding a job in that area. This happens when the career field being explored contains positions that cater to individual interests. It also helps to have skills required in the job, but someone truly interested in a certain career has no problem learning the skills needed to excel at it.
Karen Perkins - Karen Perkins is a freelance writer focusing on decorating, entertaining and crafting. A background in interior design combined with a ...
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